--- title: "8 Particles Quotes By Murray Gell-Mann" description: "8 Particles quotes by Murray Gell-Mann. Plus more from Murray Gell-Mann and more Particles sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b04/murray-gell-mann-12560_colleagues_my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-the_95425.jpg" --- > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b04/murray-gell-mann-12560_colleagues_my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-the_95425.jpg) > [Think how hard physics would be if particles could think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/think-how-hard-physics-would-be-if-particles-could-think/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/murray-gell-mann-12560_particles_think-how-hard-physics-would-be-if-parti_136097.jpg) > [For me, the study of these laws is inseparable from a love of Nature in all its manifestations. The beauty of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/for-me-the-study-of-these-laws-is-inseparable-from-a-love-of-nature/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/murray-gell-mann-12560_astronomy_for-me-the-study-of-these-laws-is-insepa_1199802.jpg) > [I do not keep up with the details of particle physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-do-not-keep-up-with-the-details-of-particle-physics/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/murray-gell-mann-12560_details_i-do-not-keep-up-with-the-details-of-par_2074777.jpg) > [The mathematics clearly called for a set of underlying elementary objects-at that time we needed three types of them-elementary objects that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/the-mathematics-clearly-called-for-a-set-of-underlying-elementary/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/murray-gell-mann-12560_cry_the-mathematics-clearly-called-for-a-set_2147618.jpg) > [Three principles - the conformability of nature to herself, the applicability of the criterion of simplicity, and the utility of certain parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/three-principles-the-conformability-of-nature-to-herself-the/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/murray-gell-mann-12560_certain_three-principles-the-conformability-of-n_2649813.jpg) > [I think also of my colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands, and feel that in some measure I am here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-think-also-of-my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/murray-gell-mann-12560_colleagues_i-think-also-of-my-colleagues-in-element_2667937.jpg) > [What I try to do in the book is to trace the chain of relationships running from elementary particles, fundamental building blocks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/what-i-try-to-do-in-the-book-is-to-trace-the-chain-of-relationships/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/murray-gell-mann-12560_adaptive_what-i-try-to-do-in-the-book-is-to-trace_2837433.jpg) ## Other authors on Particles - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-swami-vivekananda-88348.jpg) Swami Vivekananda 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/swami-vivekananda/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b012/author-isaac-newton-44709.jpg) Isaac Newton 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/isaac-newton/) - [Ralph Waldo Emerson 9 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/ralph-waldo-emerson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-wayne-dyer-94637.jpg) Wayne Dyer 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/wayne-dyer/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-richard-p-feynman-78819.jpg) Richard P. Feynman 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/richard-p-feynman/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-brian-greene-19509.jpg) Brian Greene 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/brian-greene/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-werner-heisenberg-94805.jpg) Werner Heisenberg 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/werner-heisenberg/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-david-thoreau-41473.jpg) Henry David Thoreau 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/henry-david-thoreau/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-rumi-81702.jpg) Rumi 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/rumi/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b007/author-dan-brown-26147.jpg) Dan Brown 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/dan-brown/) ## More by Murray Gell-Mann > [Of course the word chaos is used in rather a vague sense by a lot of writers, but in physics it means a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/of-course-the-word-chaos-is-used-in-rather-a-vague-sense-by-a-lot-of/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Think how hard physics would be if particles could think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/think-how-hard-physics-would-be-if-particles-could-think/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Sustainability is living on nature's income rather than living on its capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/sustainability-is-living-on-nature-s-income-rather-than-living-on-its/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [But when researchers at Bell Labs discovered that static tends to come from particular places in the sky, the whole field of radio astronomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/but-when-researchers-at-bell-labs-discovered-that-static-tends-to/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I am frequently astonished that it so often results in correct predictions of experimental results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-am-frequently-astonished-that-it-so-often-results-in-correct/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Superstitions typically involve seeing order where in fact there is none, and denial amounts to rejecting evidence of regularities, sometimes even ones that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/superstitions-typically-involve-seeing-order-where-in-fact-there-is/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I thought of killing myself but soon decided that I could always try MIT and then kill myself later if it was that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-thought-of-killing-myself-but-soon-decided-that-i-could-always-try/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [In fact any experiment that measures a quantum effect is one in which the quantum effect is aligned with the behavior of some heavy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/in-fact-any-experiment-that-measures-a-quantum-effect-is-one-in-which/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [So the old Copenhagen interpretation needs to be generalized, needs to be replaced by something that can be used for the whole universe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/so-the-old-copenhagen-interpretation-needs-to-be-generalized-needs-to/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Enthusiasm is followed by disappointment and even depression, and then by renewed enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/enthusiasm-is-followed-by-disappointment-and-even-depression-and-then/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [If I have seen further than others, it is because I am surrounded by dwarfs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/if-i-have-seen-further-than-others-it-is-because-i-am-surrounded-by/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [If we look at the way the universe behaves, quantum mechanics gives us fundamental, unavoidable indeterminacy, so that alternative histories of the universe can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/if-we-look-at-the-way-the-universe-behaves-quantum-mechanics-gives-us/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Now, what that means is that there is fundamental indeterminacy from quantum mechanics, but besides that there are other sources of effective indeterminacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/now-what-that-means-is-that-there-is-fundamental-indeterminacy-from/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Just because things get a little dingy at the subatomic level doesn't mean all bets are off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/just-because-things-get-a-little-dingy-at-the-subatomic-level-doesn-t/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/murray-gell-mann/#itemlist", "name": "8 Particles Quotes By Murray Gell-Mann", "numberOfItems": 8, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands [and I] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work is a delightful game. 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The beauty of the basic laws of natural science, as revealed in the study of particles and of the cosmos, is allied to the litheness of a merganser diving in a pure Swedish lake, or the grace of a dolphin leaving shining trails at night in the Gulf of California.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Murray Gell-Mann" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/for-me-the-study-of-these-laws-is-inseparable-from-a-love-of-nature/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/murray-gell-mann-12560_astronomy_for-me-the-study-of-these-laws-is-insepa_1199802.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/murray-gell-mann-12560_astronomy_for-me-the-study-of-these-laws-is-insepa_1199802.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/murray-gell-mann-12560_astronomy_for-me-the-study-of-these-laws-is-insepa_1199802.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For me, the study of these laws is inseparable from a love of Nature in all its manifestations. 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I needed a name for them and called them quarks, after the taunting cry of the gulls, \"Three quarks for Muster mark,\" from Finnegan's Wake by the Irish writer James Joyce.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Murray Gell-Mann" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/the-mathematics-clearly-called-for-a-set-of-underlying-elementary/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/murray-gell-mann-12560_cry_the-mathematics-clearly-called-for-a-set_2147618.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/murray-gell-mann-12560_cry_the-mathematics-clearly-called-for-a-set_2147618.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/murray-gell-mann-12560_cry_the-mathematics-clearly-called-for-a-set_2147618.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The mathematics clearly called for a set of underlying elementary objects-at that time we needed three types…” — Murray Gell-Mann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Three principles - the conformability of nature to herself, the applicability of the criterion of simplicity, and the utility of certain parts of mathematics in describing physical reality - are thus consequences of the underlying law of the elementary particles and their interactions. Those three principles need not be assumed as separate metaphysical postulates. 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